Locals Decry Broken Ceasefire in Armenia, Azerbaijan Conflict

A temporary ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan that went into effect Saturday after almost two weeks of fighting over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region was broken by Sunday afternoon, heightening concerns about the growing conflict among local Armenian-Americans.

“Azerbaijan, with continuing military support from Turkey, has shown no willingness to respect the ceasefire,” said former Pasadena Mayor Bill Paparian. “Stepanakert, the capital of Artsakh, was bombed and Hardut attacked. The indiscriminate and relentless ethnic cleansing campaign against Artsakh by Azerbaijan, the ancestral homeland of the Armenian people, continues. They’ve further shown their true mendacious colors in not honoring this ceasefire.”

On Saturday, more than 200 Armenians rallied at the Armenian consulate in neighboring Glendale.

Protesters participated in several rallies last week calling for some sort of diplomatic intervention by the United States or others in the international community to help bring peace to the region.

Both sides blamed the other for violating the ceasefire on Sunday, according to Reuters News Service.

Nagorno-Karabakh’s military officials denied attacking Ganja and said the territory’s army is observing the ceasefire, claiming Azerbaijani forces shelled Stepanakert, the region’s capital, during the night.

Armenia described allegations that its forces had attacked Ganja and caused civilian casualties as “absolute lies” and asserted that two people were killed by an “Azerbaijani subversive group” in the village of Hadrut. Azerbaijan has denied this claim.

“The relentless bombing of innocent civilians, the targeted destruction of cultural monuments and churches, and the deaths of 19- and 20-year-old soldiers continues,” Paparian said. “The United States must end all military aid to Turkey and Azerbaijan. America must sanction Turkey for injecting chaos into yet another part of the world.”

Turkey is allied with Azerbaijan in the conflict.

The accusations come after the ceasefire, which was announced after talks in Moscow that were brokered by Russia, went into effect at 1 a.m. Pacific Standard Saturday.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the ceasefire was called “for humanitarian purposes,” allowing for the exchange of prisoners and the bodies of the deceased. It added that the parameters of the agreement would be agreed on separately.